Asus to unlock Transformer Prime’s bootloader, issue Android 4 update

After facing some scrutiny over the locked bootloader on its Transformer Prime …

Asus has announced plans to unlock the bootloader on its Eee Pad Transformer Prime and bring Android 4 to the device by January 12. After facing customer scrutiny Monday for locking and encrypting the bootloader on the device, Asus announced plans to release an unlocking tool for the tablet/PC hybrid.

A post in the XDA Developers forum Monday pointed out that the Transformer Prime, a Tegra 3 quad-core tablet that can be attached to a laptop-like dock, had been released with a locked and encrypted bootloader. The poster implored others to contact Asus about unlocking the bootloader so that developers would have the freedom to install custom ROMs and engage in other experimental activities.

Asus responded in a statement, saying that the bootloader is locked "due to content providers’ requirement for DRM client devices to be as secure as possible." Despite that requirement, Asus stated it will release an unlocking tool for the development community, but it noted that using the tool will make renting videos via Google impossible and will void the warranty for the product. Asus did not specify a release date for the unlocking tool, but said that it is in development.

Asus is the second company this week to support the unlocking of bootloaders. HTC faced a consumer backlash in May over the locked bootloaders in its devices, but on December 29 the company released a tool to unlock the bootloaders in some phones and tablets.

Asus also announced it will be releasing Android 4 for the Transformer Prime in an over-the-air update on January 12. Another recent software update improved the camera's focus, the "fluidity" of the touch experience, and "the APK capabilities in the Android Market" (whatever that means).

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston

Having control over the general purpose computing hardware you purchased should not void the warranty. The only things that should void the warranty on a piece of hardware is things where you start by removing screws.

Having control over the general purpose computing hardware you purchased should not void the warranty. The only things that should void the warranty on a piece of hardware is things where you start by removing screws.

Should Asus be responsible if you recklessly overclock your hardware and burn out the SOC? Should they support people who load glitchy custom roms?

Should Asus be responsible if you recklessly overclock your hardware and burn out the SOC?

Yes. The SOC should be designed to slow/shut itself down before melting itself.

Edit:If I can kill the hardware via software, so can malware.

so you mean unlock the bootloader, but still lock down anything related to hardware, such as cpu clock adjustments, voltages, etc? doesn't that sort of defeats the purpose of having a bootloader unlocked such that you can install another ROM that can adjust all those? Or do you just really want a different UI?

Sounds like they should have just delayed launch for a month and shipped with ICS and the firmware fixes. This thing is probably dead in the water already

That's why it's pretty much impossible to buy from anywhere due to being sold out.

But is that because so many people want one, or they just weren't able to make a lot due to problems such as this?

What problems? It's a software update, the first to be offered to upgrade a device to 4.0 (from what I've seen) and they're unlocking the bootloader, which is hardly anything that would prevent manufacturing (it'd be easier to offer the device without a bootloader to begin with, however it did mean that people didn't start installing versions of 4.0 by themselves from versions online and creating support issues for Asus when they don't work properly).

Should Asus be responsible if you recklessly overclock your hardware and burn out the SOC?

Yes. The SOC should be designed to slow/shut itself down before melting itself.

Edit:If I can kill the hardware via software, so can malware.

so you mean unlock the bootloader, but still lock down anything related to hardware, such as cpu clock adjustments, voltages, etc?

See how it opens up a whole can of worms? That's why I think Asus (or any other company) is right to void the warranty. It draws a very clear line in the sand and makes product support much easier for them.

If the user wants to mod the software to that degree and use the device in an unintended fashion, they should suffer any consequences that may arise.

Having control over the general purpose computing hardware you purchased should not void the warranty. The only things that should void the warranty on a piece of hardware is things where you start by removing screws.

Sadly, these ARM devices are rarely made to be as resilient to bricking as PCs. Most Android devices are fairly easy to brick if you have full an unlocked bootloader, since you can (and regularly do) replace the bootloader (which also handles booting/flashing via USB!) as part of the normal flashing process. Break that bootloader and... whoops!

IMO, the manufacturers need to come together and agree on a bare-minimum standard (akin to the BIOS/EFI) that can be stored in read-only memory somewhere, and is always the first thing started. Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

Having control over the general purpose computing hardware you purchased should not void the warranty. The only things that should void the warranty on a piece of hardware is things where you start by removing screws.

Sadly, these ARM devices are rarely made to be as resilient to bricking as PCs. Most Android devices are fairly easy to brick if you have full an unlocked bootloader, since you can (and regularly do) replace the bootloader (which also handles booting/flashing via USB!) as part of the normal flashing process. Break that bootloader and... whoops!

IMO, the manufacturers need to come together and agree on a bare-minimum standard (akin to the BIOS/EFI) that can be stored in read-only memory somewhere, and is always the first thing started. Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

Most of the time you replace the bootloader once or twice... if you are doing this everytime you put a new ROM on you are doing it wrong...

Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

so you mean unlock the bootloader, but still lock down anything related to hardware, such as cpu clock adjustments, voltages, etc? doesn't that sort of defeats the purpose of having a bootloader unlocked such that you can install another ROM that can adjust all those? Or do you just really want a different UI?

No. You just add a hardware temp sensor that shuts down the CPU if the max operational temp is exceeded. It really isn't that hard of a concept.

Also, you should not be able to truly brick a phone with an update. There should be a read only boot loader that launches the writable boot loader.

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

That's how I see it too. It's very unfortunate, but I've a suspicion that being blasted as a "pro-piracy company" might have made them a little gun shy.

Should Asus be responsible if you recklessly overclock your hardware and burn out the SOC?

And if I order an Asus motherboard from NewEgg and build a PC with it, and install Linux?

Somehow the PC industry has managed through decades of shipping personal computers and components.

This looks like the same general purpose computing hardware to me.

I'm sure manufacturers would love nothing more than to sell you a new phone/tablet/hardware every time they decide to stop shipping you software patches for your 2 year old hardware.

Last time I checked, Overclocking a CPU or most GPUs voids their warranties. There's a clear separation between the standard PC OS and the settings that can damage hardware (EFI/BIOS/GPU overclocking utilities). Not only do these mobile devices lack that separation but they're also more sensitive to overclocking.

so you mean unlock the bootloader, but still lock down anything related to hardware, such as cpu clock adjustments, voltages, etc? doesn't that sort of defeats the purpose of having a bootloader unlocked such that you can install another ROM that can adjust all those? Or do you just really want a different UI?

No. You just add a hardware temp sensor that shuts down the CPU if the max operational temp is exceeded. It really isn't that hard of a concept.

Also, you should not be able to truly brick a phone with an update. There should be a read only boot loader that launches the writable boot loader.

sure, if it's due to overheatingbut dont forget it's software that controls the input voltagesyou can set a voltage that the voltage generators are capable of but blow out the cpu or degrade the transistors at least

Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

Can you really blame the movie companys? Its either that or not do it due to people downloading once and then offering it free everywhere. Its either DRM and have movie downloads or do without

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

That's how I see it too. It's very unfortunate, but I've a suspicion that being blasted as a "pro-piracy company" might have made them a little gun shy.

Well, there's also the problem of not really having any big name content on their service if they don't play ball.

Sounds like they should have just delayed launch for a month and shipped with ICS and the firmware fixes. This thing is probably dead in the water already

That's why it's pretty much impossible to buy from anywhere due to being sold out.

But is that because so many people want one, or they just weren't able to make a lot due to problems such as this?

What problems? It's a software update, the first to be offered to upgrade a device to 4.0 (from what I've seen) and they're unlocking the bootloader, which is hardly anything that would prevent manufacturing (it'd be easier to offer the device without a bootloader to begin with, however it did mean that people didn't start installing versions of 4.0 by themselves from versions online and creating support issues for Asus when they don't work properly).

Problems with the Prime? Surprisingly the media has decided not to pick up on this, but its being one of the worst product launches ever,

Not only was it late. But the GPS doesn't function and to get around this issue, Asus just removed mention off it from there website.

Wifi is really really poor.

Backlight bleeding is suppose to be very bad aswell as loose screens. Yellow screens. Dead pixels and just non functioning tablets.

Should Asus be responsible if you recklessly overclock your hardware and burn out the SOC?

And if I order an Asus motherboard from NewEgg and build a PC with it, and install Linux?

Somehow the PC industry has managed through decades of shipping personal computers and components.

This looks like the same general purpose computing hardware to me.

I'm sure manufacturers would love nothing more than to sell you a new phone/tablet/hardware every time they decide to stop shipping you software patches for your 2 year old hardware.

Last time I checked, Overclocking a CPU or most GPUs voids their warranties. There's a clear separation between the standard PC OS and the settings that can damage hardware (EFI/BIOS/GPU overclocking utilities). Not only do these mobile devices lack that separation but they're also more sensitive to overclocking.

All this is due to ARM's history of not being used in general purpose computers (along with 'ARM' not being a platform!).

Personally, I changed the ROM on my android device because (1) the default ROM was a load of crap (bloatware, flaky drivers, all sorts of software issues), (2) it was already 2 major versions behind (running Eclair long after Gingerbread was released!), and (3) CM7/MIUI offered far more customizable environments.

Being able to overclock the phone had nothing to do with it. Fortunately, my phone was one of the few that was considered "unbrickable", because it could pretty much always be put into download mode regardless of what you flashed (even a ROM for a totally different phone!).

Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

Can you really blame the movie companys? Its either that or not do it due to people downloading once and then offering it free everywhere. Its either DRM and have movie downloads or do without

Bull fucking shit. Look at Louis C.K.'s recent experiment. He offered a video of his stand up special online, no DRM, for $5. He made quite a bit of money. Not obscene amounts, but he was completely happy with the amount he made. It's completely possible to offer stuff like that without DRM. It just has to be good.

so you mean unlock the bootloader, but still lock down anything related to hardware, such as cpu clock adjustments, voltages, etc? doesn't that sort of defeats the purpose of having a bootloader unlocked such that you can install another ROM that can adjust all those? Or do you just really want a different UI?

No. You just add a hardware temp sensor that shuts down the CPU if the max operational temp is exceeded. It really isn't that hard of a concept.

Let's put it this way: A home a/c unit with R410a refrigerant has a switch that should kill the unit if it reaches around 650psi. If that fails, the valve in the compressor should open up and heat the overload to shut it down.

But I guarantee you, running it at 550-600psi won't trip the safeties but will shorten the compressor's life. See where I'm going with this?

Quote:

Also, you should not be able to truly brick a phone with an update. There should be a read only boot loader that launches the writable boot loader.

That's why normal updates don't update the boot loader. You have to for all those fancy features those xda people like to have.

Can you really blame the movie companys? Its either that or not do it due to people downloading once and then offering it free everywhere. Its either DRM and have movie downloads or do without

Well, you could argue that every movie they are offering is already available as a DRM-free free download through other means. But they aren't interested in that discussion as they are still certain if they can just plug enough holes, they'll get the situation under their control.

WOOT - I was able to get my hands on a Transformer Prime before christmas and I LOVE IIIIIIT.Definitely not dead in the water by a long shot. Very fast, very functional. Camera/Video is great, Games are incredible (especially with the HDMI out on a HD TV) and WiFi is fine despite their fears (pulling the full 20mbps from my high speed over n). Will never look back and if ASUS keep this up it may just become a line of tablets I stick with. I got the firmware update last night for the core and camera and very happy. Looking forward to the ICS on this.

As to DRM, I'm no fan of the way most big content uses it, but its not much of an issue on the Prime. It takes a variety of common movie formats and the new Tegra3 allows for a high bitrate and less need for conversion to narrow constraints. Haven't had a problem yet with it. My guess is it uses it more for things you rent FROM the device apps like Google or Amazon or whatever.

Coming from a background of building systems and networks myself, Its as open as I could ever wish for on a computing device made by someone else these days. Go Droid and ASUS!

Although, it seems that the carriers (at least US ones) wouldn't want things to be any easier for people to mod (and thus remove their shit-ware from the phone), as does Google seem to not want people to be able to mod their device with the whole video nonsense!

I believe that if Google could produce a video rental system without DRM, they probably would - and likely will in the future. It is the movie studios who will force services companies to employ DRM restrictions before licensing their content. In other words, we should probably be angry at the movie companies, not Google. On the other hand, we can be annoyed that Google doesn't have the guts to stand up to the movie studios... yet.

Can you really blame the movie companys? Its either that or not do it due to people downloading once and then offering it free everywhere. Its either DRM and have movie downloads or do without

Bull fucking shit. Look at Louis C.K.'s recent experiment. He offered a video of his stand up special online, no DRM, for $5. He made quite a bit of money. Not obscene amounts, but he was completely happy with the amount he made. It's completely possible to offer stuff like that without DRM. It just has to be good.

Some people still pirated it. And the amount that he made depends on the production cost. If he had made a feature-length movie for $500,000 (i.e. really low budget), and sold it for $5 he might have lost money (because 100,000 might not have wanted to pay for it).

It's not about it being good, it's about people being willing to pay for it. People often pirate things that they enjoy, even if they are reasonably priced. People pirate $0.99 iPhone games.

FWIW, my prime gps seems to work fine. (e.g., it can accurately place the blue dot on google maps even when I'm not on wifi). I only notice backlight bleed during boot, when the entire screen is a solid black and the brightness is at the maximum. Wifi works fine.

My only complaints are 1) occasional lag when returning to home screen and 2) the machine reliably hardlocks after poking around in google earth for about ten minutes.